Three Bucks Autographs

I've been on a bit of an autograph kick lately.  My goal is to have one autographed card for each Cub that had a certified autograph card sometime during his playing time with the Cubs.  I've already got most of the big names.  What I'm chasing now are the lesser guys from several years back.  Many of those cards can be had for only a few bucks.  When you see the players, you'll know why...

....Sean Gallagher.  He was one of two young pitching Seans the Cubs had (Marshall was the other).  The Cubs traded Gallagher to the A's in the Rich Harden trade.  It always makes me nervous to trade a young pitcher.  He went seven innings in his first start for the A's and gave up only two runs.  I thought, uh-oh.  But he then lost his next next six starts (though he only took the loss twice) and I was feeling better.

Kevin Hart's card has both an autograph and a jersey piece.  What a deal!  The Cubs sold high when they traded Hart to the Pirates just before the deadline in 2009.  At the time of the trade, he had won three starts in a row while lowering his ERA to 2.60.  Once he got to Pittsburgh, the bottom fell out.  He was 1-8 for the Bucs with an ERA of 6.92.

The Cubs picked Matt Karchner up from the White Sox for the 1998 stretch.  He cost the Cubs a class A prospect named Jon Garland.  This was not a good deal for the Cubs. Karchner spent the next two seasons between AAA and Chicago. Garland helped pitch the Sox to the 2005 World Championship.  Oh well, you win some, you lose some.